My first memories of flying were on Eastern Airlines. I still have a few pairs of plastic "wings" that I would get as a kid (flying between FLL and PIT), as well as a logo-ed tumbler with the hockey stick on it. My grandfather gave me the tumbler, and I never asked him how he got it... ;)

I wish my mom and dad would have signed me up for the FF program! :D

I, like you, SS255, wonder if I would still love them if they were around today...

Much of what Lorenzo tried to do made sense. Unfortunately, he wasn't a good communicator and he made himself into a lightening rod. Having seen him at a couple press conferences, he really struggled with the press. One on one or in a private group, he was very articulate and much better at explaining what he was doing and why.

I consider him sort of the Buck Showalter of Airline CEOs if that makes sense. He built the foundation and did the dirty work for others to be successful.

Incidentally, his son Cameron was involved with Bob Crandall on Pogo, which was a planned private jet taxi service using Very Light Jets which never got off the ground.

I wish mine had signed me up earlier. :rolleyes:

I remember flying EA to Disneyworld when I was almost 5. The "steward" gave me and my 3-year-old brother each a set of wings......and a little, white plastic airplane to share.

I also recall that they had big seats in Y. Or maybe that was just my perspective, since I was a kid at the time. (The seats did not seem as big when I was in college. :D)

Lots of memories flying EA in the 1960's and '70's.

Most flights were fine with no problems, but here's a couple that stand out for one reason or another.

Late 1970's, an early morning flight from YYZ to MIA on an L-1011. Crew had brought the aircraft in late the night before, and we had to wait about an hour and a half for them to reach their needed rest time before flying our flight. Finally boarded to see that the entire aircraft had only about 10 pax on it for the flight. Got stellar service and had time for a long chat with a stewardess (this was before they became "FA's") on the trip.

1969, several family members and the soon-to-be Mrs. blackjack-21 and I were flying from NYC to MIA for a special occasion on an evening flight on EA. Flight was cancelled, and they put us on a very late red-eye on a Northeast Airlines (remember them?) Convair 720. Arrived about 5 AM, with little time for sleep before a 9 AM appointment.

Sometime in the 60's, I had flown EA down to MIA to visit family for the weekend. Got a call on the day of my return flight that it had been cancelled and that I had been reaccomodated in F on a Braniff flight that evening that was arriving from South America, and continuing to NY. Only time I ever flew Braniff, on a green DC-8.

Another time, from NY to MIA during the winter. Outbound nonstop flight on the original National Airlines was cancelled due to weather, but they offered to let me standby for a flight that went NY-TPA-MIA. I was the only standby that made that flight as it was full. Got to TPA, and I watched as the pax started deplaning, when I realized I was the only one left on the aircraft. Walking to the front, I asked a crewmember when we'd be leaving for MIA, and was told that the flight was not continuing to MIA, but that I could get rebooked on an EA shuttle flight that was leaving shortly. Ran off the aircraft from the NA counter to the EA counter to get the boarding pass (long run from one end of the terminal to the other) to barely make the EA flight that was parked nose-to-nose with the NA flight I had just arrived on. In my haste to deplane in TPA, I later realized that I had forgotten my rubbers (no, not those!!!) on the NA plane. The EA shuttle flight on an Electra made several stops along the way to Miami, stopping in Orlando, Melborne, Lauderdale, then MIA. I was sitting in the first row, and the flightdeck door kept swinging open as the aircraft on one segment seemed to go from side to side at a low altitude. Ever hear the story about the stewardess sitting on the captain's lap and flying the plane? Yep.!!

bj-21.

Boeing 720
 

Boeing made a few 720s (a shortened 707) and Convair had 880s & 990s

at about the same time (I don't think Convair had a 720)

Super Loud Jet Prop Electra
 

The Lockheed Electra was one of the noisiest passenger planes ever

It seemed that there was no insulation in the fuselage

It made up the majority of the EA Northeast Shuttle Service livery

Actualy, that would be Cameron Burr - Son of Don Burr, founder of PEOPLExpress, snake oil (read company stock) salesman, and goombah of Lorenzo's, who, after splitting with him from T.I. came grovelling back to Frank to sell what was left of PE. In the long run, with the EWR hub, Lorenzo got a pretty good deal for the $100 mil.

Remember Leisure Class?
 

I read through this thread and don't see that anybody mentioned Eastern's Lesiure Class.

I was something like 12 years old at the time (some 35 years ago). When you bought a leisure class ticket (no doubt at a travel agency), you were essentially agreeing to fly standby . As I remember, the fare was substantially cheaper, but you took the risk of having to wait for space to get to your destination.

I sort of remember getting stuck at FLL trying to get back to LGA after Christmas.

I believe that Leisure Class was an Eastern only phenomena

My limited recollection of EA was as a chronically delayed passenger...in my mother's car. We'd drive in circles around FLL for hours while waiting for dad's delayed flights to arrive :D

I loved the Eastern Airlines promotion in 1977 where you could fly to as many cities as you wanted for up to two weeks - I think the cost was about $330 total.

I never flew Eastern myself. I did fly through ATL on Delta shortly after the shutdown and I remember seeing all the parked EA jets.

I also saw a jet still in Eastern livery landing at PHX in 1994. Probably being positioned for refurbishment.

[QUOTE

Late 1970's, an early morning flight from YYZ to MIA on an L-1011. Crew had brought the aircraft in late the night before, and we had to wait about an hour and a half for them to reach their needed rest time before flying our flight. Finally boarded to see that the entire aircraft had only about 10 pax on it for the flight.

[/QUOTE]

Those wonderful wide body L-1011s with five seats in the center in coach, often all empty. Even with a first class upgrade I often moved to coach on cross country flights to grab a row of empty seats and stretch out. Thank goodness there was no turbulence in the 70s :>)

My father bought the unlimited ticket using just hist 1st initial and last name. That way, 4 member of our family who had that same 1st initial could use the same ticket. :D

My 1st flight ever was on Eastern. It was PHL-MIA in the early 70s and iirc, the food served was a chicken stuffed with a cream-type sauce ang egg noodles. I thought it rocked ^

Multiple fliers on one unlimited travel ticket/chicken on Eastern
 

I don't want to say who (because the statute of limitations may not have run) but, shall we say, I have a friend who flew out for ten days, returned to a nearby city or to the original departure city for a very short turnaround (you couldn't "stop" in your original departing city until the end of the ticket) on several occasions and a different person flew the remainder of the itinerary. As if $249 per ticket (at the start) wasn't cheap enough. (As partial justification, each of the ticket sharers were so impressed with the service they went on to buy their own ticket on many subsequent occasions.)

One of the places we went regularly was to Martinique. The return home, all in one day, was FDF-MIA, MIA-ATL, ATL-Omaha, Omaha-SEA. I believe I had the same chicken dinner on the last three legs - because we were traveling west it was always dinner time. I even hid a hair under an uneaten portion of my meal on the second leg, just to see if I got the same exact meal on the third leg. Good news - my hair wasn't there. Bad news - someone else's was :>)

so right, thanks!